From its “wow” opening to an ending we can’t reveal, “The Dark Knight Rises” is spectacular filmmaking. Ambitious on every level, it is more than a worthy successor to Christopher Nolan’s previous two “Batman” movies, which already were far and away the best comic-book adaptations ever.

In fact, “The Dark Knight Rises” – estimated to have cost some $250 million – raises the bar. Nearly half of its 164 minutes was shot in IMAX, as opposed to 28 minutes of “The Dark Knight,” and it’s worth seeing in the big-screen format. | PHOTOS: BEST OF COMIC-CON

The film begins with an amazing midair hijacking/kidnapping involving a C-130 Hercules transport plane that, in typical Nolan fashion, is more stunts and aerobatics than CGI.

As terrific as that scene is, it’s simply a prelude to a massive takeover of Gotham City led by a mysterious, menacing figure named Bane (Tom Hardy), who wears a mask over his mouth in order to provide a stream of anesthetic to numb his constant pain.

Meanwhile, back in Gotham, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has been laying low for eight years in his mansion, a recluse, ever since Batman was accused of killing anti-crime crusader Harvey Dent. But even with the superhero out of action, the city’s crime rate has gone down, thanks to an initiative named after the former district attorney, the irony being that Dent had secretly become a criminal himself.

A break-in at Wayne Manor by a woman named Selina (Anne Hathaway) posing as a waitress brings Bruce out of his doldrums. The cat burglar, though, doesn’t just want the pearls that she’s stolen. She’s been hired to provide the tycoon’s fingerprints. “There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne,” the thief tells him before escaping.

At the same time, another woman enters his life, Miranda (Marion Cotillard), a wealthy investor in Wayne Enterprises who wants Bruce to put his low-cost nuclear energy source online.

But despite the tycoon’s reluctance to resume his crime-fighting ways or even join the world, the world and its terrors soon close in on him and Gotham City.

There is little point in recounting much more of the film’s plot, and not just because the studio would prefer that critics not divulge some surprises. Filmgoers should get to enjoy the complex story for itself. It’s more interesting to look at what Nolan has done and didn’t do with the film.

One of the reasons the director’s vision of Batman has worked so well is that he never lets the audience forget that the superhero is human. At one point in the story, Batman has to climb a wall. When he fails, he gets some advice. It’s because he has lost his fear, he is told.

Unlike most superhero movies where bodies fly thousands of yards and bounce off buildings with little consequence, Nolan – who wrote the film with his brother Jonathan – makes everything of consequence, whether it’s on a grand scale involving physical action or more emotionally and intimately.

People pay for their choices, even those with the best intentions. Police Commissioner Gordon (as always, a splendid Gary Oldman) has chosen not to tell the truth about Dent because it helps put criminals away, but his decision gnaws on him.

Most superhero films are buried in overly complicated mythology that usually means very little and serves merely to mask a dumb story. Conversely, in “The Dark Knight Rises” Nolan plays with the ideas of creating myth.

What does it mean to mythicize someone like Batman? Who is a hero? Who is a villain?

Those questions make the story much more compelling than “Oh my God, there’s an alien invasion.”

When Bane unleashes his attack on Gotham, it in turn unleashes sinister elements in the city, with so-called citizen courts meting out justice. (The Nolans were inspired in their screenplay by Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.”)

“The Dark Knight Rises” is foremost impressively entertaining, from the gigantic, amazingly staged fight scenes to the cool gadgets furnished by Wayne Enterprises’ Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), one of the two – along with Michael Caine’s Alfred – to know Batman’s true identity.

Nolan’s mantra is less CGI, though some is inevitable. This is hyperreality after all.

Still, the director keeps the film grounded in its own reality.

Certainly, that goes to the casting. Bale – now an Oscar winner for his turn in “The Fighter” – has more than just a brooding quality needed for the role of Batman. There is also a bit of mischief in his eyes. Others may play the role and others have, but it’s doubtful anyone can capture the Dark Knight’s essence like he does.

With her own dark playfulness, Hathaway as Catwoman (the character is not really referred to in that way) brings an intriguing presence to the film, as does Cotillard’s Miranda, a bit of an enigma.

Hardy – almost unrecognizable – makes a formidable opponent for Batman, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a young policeman who is out to find the truth.

Of course, the truth is a tricky thing in a Batman movie.

All this may seem high praise for what some see as merely a comic-book movie. While “The Dark Knight Rises” may not succeed in all things, it’s gratifying to see a movie aspire to so much.

It may be early to throw out the word Oscar, but this film is like hitting a grand slam and throwing a no-hitter in the same game.

Rob Lowman began at the L.A. Daily News working in editing positions on the news side, including working on Page 1 the day the L.A. Riots began in 1992. In 1993, he made the move to features, and in 1995 became the Entertainment Editor for 15 years. He returned to writing full time in 2010. Throughout his career he has interviewed a wide range of celebrities in the arts. The list includes the likes of Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood to Kristin Stewart and Emma Stone in Hollywood; classical figures like Yo Yo Ma and Gustavo Dudamel to pop stars like Norah Jones, Milly Cyrus and Madonna; and authors such as Joseph Heller, John Irving and Lee Child. Rob has covered theater, dance and the fine arts as well as reviewing film, TV and stage. He has also covered award shows and written news stories related to the entertainment business. A longtime resident of Santa Clarita, Rob is still working on his first more-than-30-year marriage, has three grown children (all with master's degrees) and five guitars.